infoTECH News

Freescale
Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) is demonstrating dual-PAN (personal area
network) functionality with its new generation of Kinetis wireless
solutions. As the deployment of IEEE (News - Alert)® 802.15.4 ZigBee®
networks continues to expand, multiple ZigBee networks (including ZigBee
Home Automation, ZigBee RF4CE and ZigBee Smart Energy versions 1.x and
2.0) may exist simultaneously in a home or building. The dual-PAN
capability in Freescale's (News - Alert) Kinetis KW20 wireless microcontroller (MCU)
allows a single device to seamlessly connect and actively participate in
two separate networks.

The ARM (News - Alert)® CortexTM-M4-based KW20 wireless MCU has
up to 512 KB of flash and 64 KB of SRAM, providing enough memory to run
both network protocol stacks on a single device and eliminating the need
for a second MCU.

"Freescale recognizes the need to support multiple ZigBee networks and
even different versions of protocols within a small area," said Bruno
Baylac, director and general manager of Freescale's Metering, Medical &
Connectivity business unit. "We're helping our customers adapt to
multiple scenarios in this fluid environment with the lowest cost and
shortest development time. Our hardware implementation is less complex
than software-only implementations, while significantly improving the
performance and robustness of the end product."

Freescale's distinctive hardware implementation maintains key network
information for two networks, including the PAN ID, short and long
network addresses and the RF channel, allowing the device to rapidly
change between networks in as little as 64 uS. This results in a 5x
performance improvement over software implementations and significantly
reduces network traffic and latency while lowering overall power
consumption. In addition, the KW20 can function as a coordinator, a
router or an end device on each network. If both networks are operating
on the same RF channel, then the KW20 can filter network information on
the fly, completely eliminating the need to switch between networks.

"Freescale has a number of innovative ZigBee solutions and its dual-PAN
feature in the Kinetis KW20 family is another great addition," said Bob
Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "With the growing demand for
ZigBee Certified products, Freescale's KW20 will help meet this need."

For ultimate lexibility, Freescale also offers an individual IEEE
802.15.4 radio transceiver with the same high-performance characteristic
as the radio inside the KW20, including dual-PAN capability. This radio
device, the MC13242, can be paired with any of the vast selection of
Kinetis 32-bit MCUs.

Dual-PAN functionality will be supported in Freecale's ZigBee protocol
software and sample applications for the MC13242 and KW20 wireless MCUs,
including the forthcoming ZigBee IP stack and ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0
standard.

Freescale is now sampling the Kinetis KW20 wireless MCUs (KW21D256V,
KW21D512V and KW22D512V) and the MC13242 RF transceiver to select
customers, as well as providing ZigBee protocol stack and profile
software. General availability is expected in the first quarter of 2013
and pricing for the KW21D256 starts at $4.27(USD) suggested resale price
for 10K units. For more information, visit www.freescale.com/KW20.

About Metering, Billing/CRM Europe

With more than 5,000 expected attendees, this event is billed as the
world�s largest smart utility exhibition that offers a unique networking
platform for decision-makers in the utility business concerned with
smart metering, data management, billing and customer issues.

Freescale is exhibiting in booth D06, demonstrating a variety of smart
metering solutions based on the new Kinetis KW20 MCU with integrated
ZigBee support.

ZigBee: Control your world

ZigBee offers green and global wireless standards connecting the widest
range of devices to work together intelligently and help you control
your world. The ZigBee Alliance is an open, non-profit association of
approximately 400 members driving development of innovative, reliable
and easy-to-use ZigBee standards. The Alliance promotes worldwide
adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and
control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas.
For more information, visit: www.ZigBee.org.

Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in embedded processing
solutions, providing industry leading products that are advancing the
automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. From
microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated
circuits and connectivity - our technologies are the foundation for the
innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more
connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include
automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation
wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical
devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices.

The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and
development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. http://www.freescale.com.